The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability is rolling out a new battery recycling program through local waste hauling services, allowing residents to set their dead batteries out with their trash and recycling bins for curbside pickup, instead of having to take them to specialized drop-off locations.
Starting Monday, anyone in a house, duplex, triplex or fourplex can put batteries out for pickup inside a 1-quart zip-sealed plastic bag, placing it in the yellow glass recycling bin on top of any glass content. Businesses and apartment residents — anywhere with commercial garbage service rather than residential — will still need to take their batteries to a drop-off site.
The program accepts single-use alkaline batteries and rechargeable batteries with lithium-ion, nickel-metal hydride, and nickel-cadmium chemistries, according to a news release from the bureau, but electronic devices are not accepted. Products with non-removable batteries like cellphones, vape pens and electric toothbrushes must be taken to drop-off sites.
Alkaline batteries can simply be placed in the bag, but all others including rechargeable batteries and coin-style batteries must be covered with clear tape at each end to prevent them from touching and possibly sparking. Batteries can’t be included if they’re damaged or too big to fit in a 1-quart bag.
Batteries of any kind should never be placed in trash or mixed recycling bins because they can spark or overheat, causing fires in garbage trucks and waste processing facilities. The new program is prompted in part by a sharp increase in fires at waste facilities in recent years as rechargeable batteries have become more common, according to the bureau.
“Lithium-ion battery fires, often involving e-scooters, e-bikes, and portable electronics, are a growing fire-safety concern nationwide,” said Portland Fire Marshal Kari Schimel in a statement. “These fires can start and spread quickly, emitting large amounts of toxic smoke. For these reasons, it is critical that Portlanders safely dispose of these batteries and devices containing them and do not throw them away in their trash.”
The program is available to all Portlanders with residential garbage service, regardless of which waste hauler they use. It only applies within the Portland city limits, but the bureau noted that Gresham, Clackamas County and almost all of Washington County already have similar curbside battery options.
